Wednesday, 29 June 2016

NSW Senate Candidate Rundown 2016

And now, NSW's ticket - the last of the long ones. The remaining states and territories should be pretty quick after this now.

NSW

Senators to elect: 12
Current senators:

NAT:

2

LIB:

4

LDP:

1

ALP:

4

GRN:

1

Grouped Candidates

Group A: Health Australia Party

The Party: In its own words "[t]the Health Australia Party (HAP) is a true centre party committed to
promoting open and transparent Government decision making, balance and
honesty of information, and stimulating individual freedom of choice and
thought – to ensure we have a genuinely Healthy Australia." Despite the name, this is not a single-issue party.

Policy 1: Healthy People.
Probably what you were expecting from this party -- I know I was -- the
HAP supports improved access to quality medicine, including
pharmaceuticals and proven natural medicine. It also talks without great
detail about limiting the influence of multinational pharmaceutical
companies and relying on studies that are unbiased and scientifically
sound, and advocates for Australia to "[b]uild a health-creation system,
not a disease-management system".Policy 2: Healthy Economy.
The HAP supports small business, and is concerned about the influence of
big businesses, unions and red tape on harming enterprise. The party
argues, somewhat ambiguously, for a "[g]enuine tax reform based on
fairness and truth", clarifying that this involves measures to prevent
the use of tax havens and to ensure "[f]air taxes on the wealthy,
encourage the middle to progress, and support the poor and
disadvantaged".Policy 3: Healthy Environment. This policy
covers general support for renewable energy projects, stronger
environmental protection from industry and development, encouraging
sustainable agricultural practices, promoting eco-tourism in Australia
and providing protections for endangered species.

Group B: Seniors United Party of Australia

The Party: A semi-single-issue party focussed on the needs of elderly Australians, the SUPA is hard to find information on online. The only website by the party I could find was a pre-registration plea for support at http://www.seniorsunited-nsw.com/ and when I checked the ABC for a link I ended up back in the same place. I have therefore relied on second-hand materials to examine their policy platform, as sourced below (which added "To find more information visit their website here" and directed me back to that first site again).This means the information I have is quite brief, so I have copied it in full, my normal 3-policy format be damned:

Policies:

Parliamentary inquiry into the retirement village industry

Aged Care (Nursing Homes): There is talk of handing over the
accreditation of these facilities to the private sector, and at the same
time, talk of stripping $534 million dollars of government subsidies
from this industry.

Palliative Care: We strongly endorse the introduction of a
comprehensive National Palliative Care scheme, funded by the Federal
Government.

A crack down on Home Care Packages which are costing taxpayers a
small fortune but delivering very little dollar value outcome to the
patient.

Superannuation: The current complex system of income and asset tests
for the age pension should be replaced by a single means test which
should NOT include the value of the family home.

Group C: Family First

The Party: Family First (FFP) has gone to great lengths to
declare itself a secular party, although it has close links to
conservative religious groups and its candidates have largely been drawn
from the ranks of conservative Christians that support the party.
Wikipedia defines the party's ideology as "Christian democracy" and
"Christian right" among other terms, and the policies below certainly
seem to align with the traditional Christian right ideology.

Policy 1: Home Ownership.
Family First holds to the notion of house ownership as a central part
of the "Australian Dream", and of moral, social and economic importance.
To increase housing affordability, the FFP proposes the removal of
limitations and zoning restrictions on land to open up the opportunities
for house building. The FFP also objects to compulsory Master Planning
which removes small developers from the market.Policy 2: Family.
It is no surprise that a party like the FFP opposes same-sex marriage
and family planning measures like abortion. The party also opposes
adoption by same-sex couples, believes de facto partnerships should not be afforded the same legal status as marriage and opposes both private and commercial surrogacy.Policy 3: Pro-Life Healthcare.
The FFP, as a pro-life party, objects to euthanasia, and also insists
(assuming their anti-abortion policies do not pass) that protections for
doctors who conscientiously object to abortion remain in place. FFP
does support "treatments and cures ... developed from stem cells
ethically derived from live patients" but objects to the use of
embryonic stem cells, even those harvested from unused IVF-prepared
eggs. the FFP is also committed "to the expansion of medical and
therapeutic early identification and intervention services focused on
disability in unborn children, infants and young children in order to
provide disabled children with the very best opportunity to lead full
lives".

Group D: Liberal Democrats

The Party: The LDP has been around for a while
now, but have really made a big push this election. You might not have
realised it, but they have -- they're the ones behind all the "end
political correctness" posters. The LDP are a libertarian party,
offering economic liberalism (as per the Coalition) and social
liberalism (as per Labor and the Greens) and are best summed up by the
idea that government should interfere as little as possible in any area
of life.

Policy 1: Victimless Crime. The LDP
strongly advocates that victimless crimes be decriminalised. Examples of
"low-level victimless crimes" that the LDP would support the
legalisation of include:

Riding a motorcycle or bicycle without a helmet

BASE jumping from city buildings

Individual purchase and consumption of recreational drugs

Driving a motor vehicle without a seatbelt

Prostitution and/or soliciting for prostitution

Public nudity and fornication

The consumption of pornography (not involving children or coercion)

Victimless crimes, in the LDP definition, also include assisted suicide, abortion and prize fighting.Policy 2: Abolish Labour Regulation.
Sometimes the LDP policy book reads like an ALP scare campaign. This
policy is one of those, and includes abolishing the minimum wage and the
award system, abolishing the national employment standards except
OH&S and removing ‘unfair dismissal’ restrictions except for the
sexual harassment rules, to allow employees to be fired for any reason.Policy 3: Health.
In what one would normally expect to be political kryptonite, the LDP
would abolish Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and funding
for public hospitals, government involvement in delivery of health
services and government funding of health research. They would also
support the privatisation of blood, organ and tissue donation services.

Group E: VOTEFLUX.ORG | Upgrade Democracy!

The Party: Policies
are too "Federalism 1.0" for this party, so I'm tackling it a little
differently to its competitors. VOTEFLUX proposes a system whereby
ordinary Australians enroll online and vote directly on the bills before
parliament. The result will then be proportionally represented by any
VOTEFLUX candidates in the senate in votes on the floor. As such the
"policies" of VOTEFLUX are... umm... in flux. The system has a little
more complexity involving vote trading to amass greater support on the
issues you care about in return for your vote on those you don't and the
like; follow the link below for details.
This will be a hard
sell, but if handled correctly getting a single candidate into the
Senate could generate enough media interest to get the idea out there
and popular enough to hang around a while. It's a hard sell because
voters for VOTEFLUX aren't necessarily voting for a larger voice in the
senate. You'd better believe that any VOTEFLUX candidate is going to
have Labor and Liberal voters chiming in on issues in addition to their
voice already represented by their elected senators. Voters for VOTEFLUX
are voting for an idea and a system, not for any policy they think
they'll get more say over.

Group F: Liberal

The Party: The dominant partner of the current ruling
Coalition, the Liberals are billing themselves as the party of stability
and responsible government. Founded by Menzies after the Second World
War from the remnants of older parties that have evolved and adapted
since federation, the Liberals are largely seen as one of the two major
parties of Australian politics, the other being Labor. The reality is
more complex, with the party often ruling with a technical minority and
de facto majority thanks to a permanent coalition with the Nationals.

Policy 1:Jobs and Growth.
You may have heard that the Coalition is supporting jobs and growth.
What this means is rarely explained, because that's not interesting or
catchy enough for news media. This policy is a combination of additional
funding for STEM fields as the basis for our "innovation nation", cuts
to business tax rates to encourage employment and entrepreneurship and
export trade deals.Policy 2: Construction Commission.
Reintroducing the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC)
is a major policy for the Coalition, not least of all because it was
the legislation that triggered the double dissolution. In order to crack
down on what the Liberals describe as "bullying, intimidation and
lawlessness" in the construction industry, the ABCC is intended to be
supplemented by a Registered Organisations Commission which will have
oversight over the unions -- particularly the CFMEU -- with bowers of
both monitoring and regulation.Policy 3: Making the Boats not Unstop.
Given the Coalitions successful stop the boats campaign last election,
and their repeated announcements of success during their term, it is not
surprising that the Liberals would rely on an argument that the nations
borders were more secure under a Liberal government. The party is,
however, keen to emphasise it's humanitarian works in this area, too,
pointing out that "[t]he Coalition removed all children who arrived by
boat from detention in Australia", that "[a]ccording to UNHCR data,
Australia is one of the three most generous nations when it comes to
permanently resettling refugees ... [and] these places are going to
those most in need around the world, not people arriving by boat" and
that "[s]topping the boats also enabled Australia to take an additional
12,000 refugees from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq".
Interestingly,
the controversial Border Force agency is proudly celebrated, despite
being described as a "paramilitary" organisation in the Sydney Morning Herald following a large protest at perceived racist and even totalitarian approaches to border control. Border Force is again under scrutiny,
with allegations of corruption and association with criminal
organisations for the purpose of rorting and dodging Australia's visa
system.

Group G: [Untitled 1]

The... Party? Two candidates are standing grouped under Group G, but without a party or a name. One is Teresa van Lieshout, the other Colin Bennett. Without a party name, it is hard to find exact policies, and Colin Bennett suffers the unfortunate fate that he shares the name with a more successful American senator, which drowns out any internet presence he might have.

Teresa, however, is not hard to find information on but there is no easy way to separate her religious ideals from political policies or other musings. Teresa has many online videos, which I could watch (I gave up after one citing her ban from Facebook as part of a conspiracy for "psychiatric murder and torture" by the major parties. I have not linked this as she also names a number of Facebook users in what I'd expect could result in a defamation lawsuit), a history of running for office (mostly in WA) and several mentions in newspapers for her criminal charges, belief that all magistrates should be jailed and for repeatedly lashing out on social media. Just google her name and the front page of results alone will provide all the context you could want.

If you're still looking for more on Ms van Lieshout, an article, a couple of years old, over at Cate Speaks gives a more comprehensive rundown of the candidate's stance from her WA campaigns and demonstrates a considerable amount of patience and tolerance.

This includes nothing written in the last five years, an article titled "The Rise of the Anti-Christ: The 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ" and a critique of textbooks using CE and BCE date references as "surreptitious and insidious, and more threatening than anything we've seen in education contexts" claiming that "within 20 years the historical and modern values of our nation will be largely destroyed".

Group H: Democratic Labour Party (DLP)

The Party: Growing up I always viewed the DLP as an extreme
far-right party. Reading their policies this year made me view them as a
more moderate right party. Perhaps it's because of the rise of certain
more extreme parties, but this gave me pause to go back to last election
and check my description. I find, for once, that I wrote something
suitably apt and will repeat it here: "The DLP is a right-wing party
with all the normal social-justice
trappings; opposition to same sex marriage, euthanasia and abortion are
among their most well-known policies. However, there are a few surprises
in the DLP policy chest, and again I encourage you to follow the link
below and look at some of the platforms that matter to you."Policy 1: Constitution and Democratic Rights.
The DLP opposes compulsory ID cards for Australians, and the idea of a
Bill of Rights. Neither of these ideas have surfaced prominently for a
while, but they do crop up from time to time, which is presumably why
the DLP has addressed them. The party also desires mechanisms for
citizen-initiated referenda, and calls for any international covenant to
be revoked where it "overrides the will of the Australian people,
undermines established law or compromises the sovereignty of the
Commonwealth or any State."Policy 2: Foreign Affairs. The DLP
desires that the government of Indonesia withdraw all military forces
from West Papua and allow an independence vote. To complement this, the
DLP wants a greater portion of Australian aid provided to Indonesia to
be granted to West Papua. Foreign aid in general, in the views of the
DLP, would be increased to place Australia in the top 10 nations in
terms of GDP committed to aid, though not necessarily provided as
financial aid; the DLP supports more of our foreign aid being provided
through Australian-made goods and services. The DLP wants a 17.5% tax on
foreign companies investing in Australian residential property and a
50% tax on any profit made by selling these properties to give
Australian buyers an advantage in the housing market. The DLP also
desires a bi-partisan (or do they mean multi-partisan?) approach to
asylum seekers and refugees. The DLP supports on-shore processing as a
means of creating jobs and dealing compassionately with refugees. Other
specific refugee plans include closer cooperation with neighboring
nations and in particular Indonesia, increasing the annual asylum seeker
and refugee intake from Indonesia to reduce the need and desire to
arrive by boat, and transportation of "irregular maritime arrivals" to
one of five UN accredited refugee camps of their choice.Policy 3: Energy. The
DLP objects to the perceived situation where "[m]ulti-national
companies have repeated the call to resist any pressure to have any
domestic supply reserve protection [because] [t]hey want to send all
national gas and other resources overseas to make record profits" and
instead advocates for all states, as WA has, to allocate a reserve of
the nations natural gas resources for citizens and businesses to use in
the event of a supply failure. The DLP also supports oil refineries to
be reopened in Australia to reduce our dependence on foreign nations.
The DLP also supports the development of Polywell Plasma Fusion -- a
form of nuclear fusion -- to provide power in Australia, although according to Wikipedia this technology is not as advanced as the DLP appears to be claiming.

Group I: Science Party

The Party: Although the Science Party bases, or claims to base,
its policies in scientific research, this is not the semi-single-issue
party you might imagine. The additional funding for science and research
is there, as is a climate policy that recognises the importance of
renewable energy, but there's also plenty of other issues including
moral stances on same-sex marriage and support for a republic as
explained below.Policy 1: Science and Education. The
Science Party supports a range of education initiatives including Gonski
reforms for increased and needs-based funding, standardised testing and
a standardised curriculum (including compulsory STEM subjects in
primary and secondary school, compulsory computer programming in high
schools, the inclusion of ethics calsses but exclusion of special
religious education and the inclusion of age-appropriate sex education).
The party also supports fully publicly-funded tertiary education and
opposes fee deregulation, interest on student loans, reducing repayment
thresholds and inclusion of household income rather than their personal
income in calculating that repayment threshold.
The science party
also supports establishing an Australian space agancy and incouraging a
space industry. In addition to this the Science Party would double
government investment in research, particularly in transportation,
communication, education, agriculture, health and biomedical research,
energy (including nuclear energy) and computer science.Policy 2: Freedom and Democracy.
The Science Party actually proposes some very dramatic changes to our
current system: a shift to a republic with the governor general elected
by two-thirds of a joint sitting of parliament; House of representative
seats to be amalgamated so each seat elects 3 members by proportional
representation and the senate to be proportionally elected nationally
rather than on a state-by-state basis; and for elections to be conducted
in a hybrid paper/electronic method. The party also wants all
non-sensitive government material to be easily available online,
stronger whistle-blower protections, the prevention of internet filters,
an end to ISP logging of online activity without specific instruction,
law enforcement to need a warrant to investigate online behaviour, all
forms of anti-discrimination to be enforced, the legalisation of
same-sex marriage, the legalisation of euthanasia and a trial of drug
decriminalisation.Policy 3: Government Services. Science
Party policy includes support for the NBN and prevention of internet
restrictions in the area of communications; legalisation of driverless
cars, creating high-speed rail between the eastern capitals and founding
additional train lines through other suburban areas currently devoid of
any train stations in the area of transportation; and subsidisation of
95% of all costs in the area of child care. In the area of health the
Science Party intends to push for increased medicare funding, support
for preventative healthcare including vaccines, training public servants
in mental first aid, providing intermediate-level mental health
services and funding early intervention, making euthanasia legal and
ensuring access to safe and affordable abortion.Source:http://www.scienceparty.org.au/federal_policy

Group J: Shooters, Fishers and Farmers

The Party: Once the Shooters Party, then the Shooters and
Fishers Party, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFFP) has been
around for a while. They also hold two seats in each of the NSW,
Victorian and WA Legislative Councils, and were close runners for a
federal senate seat or two last election prior to the voting system
reform. Not quite a single-issue party but unable to shake the shackles
of its single-issue origin, this Quasimodo of a political party has
policies on a few different issues.

Policy 1: Firearms.
The SFFP wishes to reduce the extent of Federal gun control in
Australia, either devolving the matter to state regulation or removing
it completely. This includes repealing the 1996 National Firearms
Agreement, preventing the establishment of a Commonwealth Firearms
Registry, and abolishing the registration of category A and B firearms.
On the flip side the group also recognises the threats of gun violence,
advocating investment in front line crime prevention and national
education and safety programs, as well as mandatory sentencing for
Commonwealth firearms offences. Policy 2: Fishing. The party
wants greater fishing opportunities in Commonwealth waters, and the
right to fish recreationally in Commonwealth marine reserves. The SFFP
also advocate for national education on recreational and commercial
fishing activities, greater funding for fish farming programs, tougher
penalties for poaching fish in Australian waters and an end to
international fishing operations, including multinational super
trawlers. Policy 3: The shooters and fishers also demand
greater access to public land and waters for recreational use, including
greater opportunities for recreational hunting. Part of this is
involved in expanding the size and number of private game reserves and
promoting shooting, hunting and fishing as appropriate school
activities.
The party also intends to "[e]ngage and work with all
outdoor recreational groups and associations to deliver better outcomes
for outdoor users", in particular striving to end the "vilification" of
four-wheel drivers who wish to drive in national parks.

Group K: Voluntary Euthanasia Party

The Party: As would be expected, the VEP is a single-issue
party on the subject of the right to die. The normal caveat for a
single-issue party must be stressed -- voting for a single-issue party
is a perfectly acceptable choice, only gives the voter's voice full
power on one issue -- in this case on Euthanasia. Other issues of
interest may be held against the voters' interests, particularly in a
vote swapping deal, so voters for this party should be prepared to
prioritise voluntary euthanasia above all else.

Policy 1: Voluntary Euthanasia.
Obviously the VEP supports the legalisation of assisted euthanasia, but
on the condition that it is offered only to "patients with a terminal
or incurable illness, who are enduring
intolerable suffering and who have expressed a desire for the procedures
within appropriate legal safeguards". Additional requirements desired
by the VEP are that:

the person is at least 18 years of age;

the person is an Australian resident;

the person is of sound mind and the decision to end his or her life
has been made freely, voluntarily and after due consideration; and

two medical practitioners have confirmed that the person has an eligible medical condition.

Policy 2: Advance Care Directives. "We will work to ensure that ACD's are legally enforceable and that
hospital staff are trained in both the procedures and legal standing of
ACD's. We aim to have ACD's registered on a statewide database to ensure
ease of access for medical staff."Policy 3: Palliative Care. "We will work to ensure palliative care facilities are fully funded, that
staff are effectively trained and that innovative, modern and
recognised treatments are made available... Palliative care funding needs to keep pace with our ageing
population".

Group L: Socialist Alliance

The Party: Pretty much what you'd expect from a socialist party.
There is a lot of rhetoric against capitalism, and particularly
corruption of politicians and companies, in their policy statements.
That said, there is a large number of policies to wade through, often
with considerable detail and on a wide range of topics. This is the only
party I've found, for example, with a policy on the wearing of the hijab/burka/niqab that does not support a ban. Below is just a small sample of the party's positions:

Policy 1: Climate.
After the predictable "capitalism causes climate change" line, the SA's
policy on climate is actually very detailed. Whoever writes the
headings for this policy, however, deserves a raise (or whatever the
socialist equivalent is) because they very neatly sum up the lengthy
policy platform:

Phase out coal, build renewables

Set strong targets to cut emissions fast

Rich countries must take the lead

No to nuclear

Increase energy efficiency — aim for zero waste

Boost organic farming and reforestation

Make public transport free, frequent and accessible

Guarantee green jobs

Change the system, not the climate

Policy 2: Electoral Reform. There's quite a lot going on here.
The SA wants the voting age reduced to 16, with appropriate education
initiatives. It wants publicly-funded citizen-initiated referenda to be
availible. It wants more transparency in party donations, elected
representatives to have their salaries limited to that of an anverage
worker, and the end of the current Commonwealth Electoral Act funding
model that pays for party campaigns based on their previous voter
support. It wants electors to have the ability to recall elected
candidates and demand a new vote. It wants all candidates to be given
equal funding for campaigns to level the playing field. It wants all
voting systems to be replaced by a proportional system, and it wants an
end to laws and fees required for the registration and nomination of
candidates.Policy 3: LGBTI issues. The Socialist Alliance
stands for same-sex marriage, adoption and fertility options for
same-sex couples, free access to hormones and gender reassignment
surgery for trans individuals, full legal recognition of gender identity
regardless of whether surgery has been performed, right to
gender-neutral/agender/unanswered status on official forms,
discrimination laws, repeal of any discriminatory legislation and
greater education in schools on LGBT issues.

Group M: Rise Up Australia Party

The Party: RUA was lambasted by the media when it first appeared on the scene, with
most of the criticism aimed at the party's leader, Pastor Danny
Nalliah. In particular, his views as a young-earth creationist,
his claims that he raised three people from the dead and his belief
that Victorian laws allowing abortion were the cause of the tragic Black
Saturday bushfires have been used to publicly discredit the party. The
involvement of Christopher Monkton in the party's origins, a vow "to be
politically incorrect" and personal attacks on political rivals have not
helped to dispel these criticisms. On the other hand, it is the only party I have found with an explicit anti-Nazism policy, so... good for them?

Policy 1: Foreign Affairs.
RUA opposes the combination of "[l]egislative loopholes, inconsistent
government oversight and our prohibitive taxation system" which they
blame for increased foreign investment in Australia. The party wants all
sales to foreign investors to be put through a national interest test
and to impose tariffs on imported manufactured goods.
RUA opposes
multiculturalism but supports becoming a 'multi-ethnic nation with one
culture'. In particular RUA is concerned of the possibility of Sharia
law being forced upon people, and supports "freedom of religion,
provided the religion is tolerant of other religions. Islam, for
example, is one religion which opposes the right to assemble and worship
other gods and it vigorously fights to destroy or kill such people whom
they describe as “infidels”." "To clarify," one policy write up states
"we love the Muslim people but oppose their texts (Quran/Koran) and
Islamic doctrine and ideology because it is oppressive and incompatible
with the Australian way of life." RUA also supports a ban on wearing a
burka in public and tough border protection.Policy 2: Health.
RUA's health policies include concerns on drug and alcohol abuse, which
they address by opposing the legalisation of marijuana, supporting
raising the drinking age to 21 and "[b]anning of television programs,
such as Geordie Shore and Jersey Shore, which frequently glorify binge
drinking". The party also supports more efforts towards mental health
and suicide prevention, including volunteers, particularly senior
citizens, to be "Community Connectors" who support people with
depression and similar illnesses. RUA prevaricates in its position on
abortion, and opposes any incentives for immunisation.Policy 3: Energy.
Drawing almost entirely from WND as a news source, the RUA party
rejects the existence of climate change and strongly believes coal power
is the most efficient and only reliable source of energy that can be
used in Australia.

Group N: Labor

The Party: The oldest political party in Australia and
one of the two governing parties since the second world war, the ALP
needs little introduction. The left-wing party of Australia's two-party
mindset, Labor is the opposition leading into this election and is
likely to pick up a swing back from the anti-Rudd landslide of 2013,
though not enough to govern in their own right. Labor has announced "100
positive policies" this election, so picking three would be hard, if it
were not for the nature of modern politics that allows me to focus on
the ones that became the key sound-bites that the ALP has tried to
hammer home.

Policy 1: Protecting Medicare.
Labor claims that the Turnbull government has created a medicare
privitisation taskforce, and is hammering this hard in the final days of
the election. The government has labelled this a lie, and voters are
divided on whether they believe this (with a majority of Labor
supporters believing Labor and most Liberal voters believing the
Liberals). There certainly is a move to outsource claims and payment services
for both Medicare and the PBS, but it's a matter of opinion whether
this is "privatisation" and what effects -- positive or negative -- this
will have on the system. This is complicated by Labor considering
similar reforms in government, the Coalition making the freeze on
Medicare rebates semi-permanent (which Labor promises to undo) and a long, long, long history of politicians promising not to do something they then do in office.Policy 2: Protecting Penalty Rates.
In opposition to Coalition and cross-bench attempts to remove penalty
rates as a means of reducing the cost of business and boosting, Labor
promises that weekend and public holiday penalty rates will remain to
compensate (often low-paid) workers who sacrifice these hours for their
employers.Policy 3: "Budget Repair that's Fair". From the 'it
rhymes, so vote for it' school of sloganeering. Labor has recently
admitted that in the short term its deficits will be greater than the
Coalitions, although it expects this to correct over time. Fair budget
repair includes lowering the company tax rate for small business,
pursuing multinational companies that avoid Australian taxation laws,
and cutting government waste by repealing Government programs like the Direct Action climate policy, a new Baby Bonus, and legislating for marriage equality without a plebiscite.

Group O: Online Direct Democracy - (Empowering the People!)

The Party: Formerly known a s Senator Online, this party has no policies of its own. It proposes a system of online registration -- cross-referenced with the electoral roll and using appropriate safeguards -- to give all eligible voters the right to vote on issues before the parliament and propose new legislation. After a nation-wide vote on any issue all ODD MPs will vote in accordance with the majority. (Note that this differs from the VOTEFLUX system, where the public vote will be represented proportionately).

Group P: Derryn Hinch's Justice Party

The Party: Derryn Hinch
is famous for this controversial shock-jock radio programs and
occasional jail stints for contempt of court. His party is largely
relying on his public recognition, with Hinch writing on the party's
website that "[m]illions
of people across this country know who I am and what I stand for". The
party has a diversity of policies, but no central policy page - all
policies can be accessed from a menu on the party's website's main page.Policy 1: Legal System Reform.
Hinch has always been an advocate of tougher sentencing and penalties
for violent crimes. His party supports a variety of linked policies
including longer sentences for violent crimes, reducing the role of
precedent in appeals to reduce sentencing, a blanket ban on bail for
acts of violence and tougher parole rules, and a publicly available
sex-offenders register with photographs and addresses.Policy 2: Social Justice.
On social issues the Justice Party is generally left-leaning and
progressive. The party supports euthanasia and right-to-die ideas and
same-sex marriage. The party also stands firmly behind the idea that
people deserve equal rights regardless of race, sex, or religion,
although lacks publicly availible detail on what this directly involves.Policy 3: Animal justice.
This policy is more or less condensed to one line: "Derryn Hinch's
Justice Party stands to see harsher penalties imposed for acts of animal
cruelty."

Group Q: Jacqui Lambie Network

The Party: Most Australians would know Jacqui Lambie as the
former Palmer United senator for Tasmania. However, assumptions that
Lambie's policies would be directly based on that of the PUP do not
necessarily follow. Prior to being selected by the PUP, Lambie intended
to run as an independent, and before that had sought Liberal
pre-selection for the lower house. She has also worked for a Tasmanian
Labor candidate. Lambie's policies and those of her party should be
judged independently of the senators previous associations.

Policy 1: Islam.
One of the issues that Senator Lambie is most noted for being vocal
about, the party's stance on Islam is one of the most contentious so I
shall only quote directly from the party's policy documents:
"JLN considers that support for Sharia Law, given that it’s the law,
culture and way of life supported by Islamic State terrorists:
a) is a clear sign of extreme radicalisation,
b) shows a split or divided loyalty to Australia and a clear sign of allegiance to hostile foreign powers,
c) attacks democratic principles found in Australia’s constitution
...and therefore is also a clear sign of seditious or treasonous behaviour worthy of investigation and possible charges."
"JLN
also calls on the Federal Police and Federal Attorney to ... charge
with treason or sedition - those citizens who support in any way
what-ever, the imposition of Sharia or the Terrorists’ law, in
Australia."
"For many cultures, including 80,000 Australians of the
Sikh faith - eating Halal certified food is forbidden. And people
practicing the Islamic faith - like followers of other peaceful, faiths
are entitled to identify and eat food, which conforms to their religious
custom."
"Under questioning, in estimates Committee Hearings
Attorney General Brandis – Australia’s highest law officer, failed to
give Senator Lambie a guarantee that Halal Certification funds were not
being used by Islamic terrorists."Policy 2: Energy. The JLN
recognises the existence of anthropogenic climate change, but opposes
carbon taxing and any emission trading schemes "until our major trading
partners introduce a similar tax" to maintain Australia's economic
competitiveness. Until international agreement on taxation of an ETS
emerges, the JLN proposes doubling current base-load renewable energy
through hydro-electric means and a referendum on implementing nuclear
power. The party also demands a parliamentary inquiry into power and gas
prices.Policy 3: Defence. As a former member of and corporal
in the Armed Forces, the ADF plays an important view in Senator
Lambie's view of Australia. Her party's policies include withdrawal of
all troops from the middle east, aid and support for Kurdish fighters
including the supply of arms, and a royal commission to consider a very
broad range of issues including physical and sexual assault in the
military, delivering medical treatment and compensation for veterans'
physical and psychological injuries and to prevent suicide in the ADF.
The JLN also supports the introduction of a voluntary Australian
National Service, Trainee and Apprenticeship Scheme, and failure to join
this service or otherwise find employment or pursue study will not be
eligible to receive any government payment (except disability payments).
The JLN also supports indexation of veteran pensions to match the
rising cost of average Australian weekly wages, automatic qualification
for a Health Gold Card and free tertiary education for any veteran who
served in war.Source:http://lambienetwork.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/LAMBIE-NETWORK-POLICY.pdf

Group R: Pirate Party Australia

The Party: Although often assumed to be a joke party along the lines of the UK's Official Monster Raving Loony Party,
the Pirate Party is actually a serious semi-single-issue party
campaigning largely on the issue of (and against the current extent of)
copyrights and intellectual property law.Policy 1: Intellectual Property.
Contrary to their chosen name, the Pirate Party considers the terms
"piracy" and "theft" the result of corporate spin to defend unjust
prohibitions of "culture sharing", citing cases alleged of threatened
legal action for community groups performing Christmas Carols among
other things. The PP believes copyright should be limited to 15 years,
wants shorter (and thus presumably non-renewable) patents --
particularly in the fast-developing software industry -- no patents on
products of nature such as genes and organisms and, while supporting
patents on drug creation processes as a means of encouraging greater
inefficiencies, believes patents on drugs produce costly monopolies for
consumers and the government through the PBS as well as encouraging
development of (ongoing) treatments rather than cures.Policy 2: Civil Liberties.
The PP supports free speech, even hate speech, on the grounds that any
form of censorship becomes a slippery slope and argues the best antidote
to hate speech is free speech, education and debate. The party also
opposes recent counter-terror legislation as a step too far, wants
stronger protections for journalists and whistle-blowers, opposes data-
and meta-data collection policies, desires the creation of a tort of
invasion of privacy, supports net neutrality and opposes systems that
block or slow down access to content based on the source or owner. The
PP also believes that all legal references to marriage should be
replaced by civil unions, open to all couples, in order to also
eliminate any legal or financial incentive or disincentive for marriage,
which would become a religious or community matter.Policy 3: Constitutional Reform.
The PP supports the introduction of a Bill of Rights based on the UN's
Declaration of Human Rights,International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. The party also believes there must be mechanisms to
allow citizen-initiated referenda, supports the recognition of
Aboriginal people in the Constitution and desires the repeal of sections
25 and 51(xxvi) which permit the disqualification of certain races from
voting and grants the Commonwealth the power to make laws for specific
races respectively.Source:https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Platform

Group S: Pauline Hanson's One Nation

The Party: Never Give Up. That is the current slogan of the party that just won't die. One Nation is back again, with more of the

Policy 1: Islam.
I could not, in good faith, try to represent One Nation's policies
without discussing Islam. I also cannot rephrase any of their ideologies
on Islam, halal certification
or related issues because their extreme positions make it sound like
I'm misrepresenting the party. Instead, I will simply quote several of
the relevant policies:

Call for an inquiry or Royal Commission to determine if Islam is a religion or political ideology

Stop further Muslim Immigration and the intake of Muslim refugees

Ban the Burqa and Niquab in public places

Surveillance cameras to be installed in all Mosques and schools. Mosques to be open to the public during all opening hours

No more mosques to be built until the inquiry is held

Muslims will not be allowed to be sworn in to Parliament under the Qur’an

Policy 2: Immigration.
One Nation believes that, regardless of the refugee status of an
individual, they must be turned back if people smugglers have stolen or
destroyed their passports. The party also wants to institute policies
that would see people smugglers and their crews serve prison sentences
in Indonesia, though there's no word on how Indonesia is to be coerced
into funding these prison places.Other policies include support for temporary visas, the end of family reunions and termination of the UNHCR Refugee Convention.Policy 3: Citizens Initiated Referenda.
Citing the success of CIR programs in Europe and the US since the late
1800s, One Nation argues that any citizen should be able to call a
referendum on any issue if 2% of registered voters can be convinced to
sign a petition to that effect.

Group T: Veterans Party

The Party: Formerly the Australian Defence Veterans Party, the Veterans Party (VP) now adopts a much wider definition of veteran: "By “veterans” we mean the defenders, protectors and carers of our nation. Those who serve our country and communities in our defence and security forces, in emergency and ambulance services, on farms, in police forces, hospitals and schools". I would like to add, without any comment on the quality or content of the actual policies, that the VP has one of the slickest and well-prepared policy documents of any minor party.

Policy 1: First Responders. The VP believes that the health -- including mental health -- of first responders should never be threatened by financial constraints and "has authored a model Medical Benefits Fund that would be funded by the Federal Government and provide coverage to all [first responders] across Australia’s states and territories". The party also supports mental health awareness and training in first responder training and cadet systems, an independent treatment facility of first responders and ongoing support for retired first responders. The VP also believes the current systems of memorials need to be reviewed, since they rarely recognise those who die as a consequence of physical or mental harm after retiring. The VP believes such sacrifices deserve equal recogniton.

Policy 2: Aging. The retirement policy of the VP reflects a view that all Australian citizens who have contributed to this nation deserve an acceptable standard of living in retirement. This involves free medical and dental services and free public transport. The party believes that mature age pensions should be indexed as they currently are bus any means testing should exclude the value of the family home. The VP will urge the government to increase aged-care places, would offer additional support to palliative care providers and allows a conscience vote on euthanasia, although all current candidates are "unanimous in [their] support for Euthanasia."

Policy 3: Religion and Freedom of Speech. Following the position of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the VP agrees that inciting hatred on racial or religious grounds should be illegal. The party believes that legislation protecting free speech, subject to current anti-discrimination law, is desperately needed in Australia. The party supports freedom of religion on the condition that any religious practices do not violate any laws and show respect for other religions and values including freedom of religion.

Group U: Secular Party of Australia

The Party: To balance out the number of conservative Christian
parties running in the election, there's the SPA. Often termed a
single-issue party, this is not correct in my opinion. The SPA has a
wide variety of policies derived from certain core principles including
the separation of church and state, but the separation of church and
state is not a single issue given the party's wide platform ranging from
economics to education to climate change.

Policy 1: Religion.
Obviously a major issue for the SPA. The party objects to oaths (as
opposed to affirmations) in public life, such as at the swearing in of
elected members and in courts as "anachronistic, ethnocentric and
divisive". They also support the removal of the optional words "under
God" from citizenship ceremonies, clear labeling of halal products and
that all payments for religious certification of a product be limited to
covering the costs involved, while opposing legislation against
blasphemy in Australia and abroad.Policy 2: Republic. The SPA
objects to the concepts of monarchy and hereditary privilege, and in
particular to the current system of monarchs who are also the heads of
the Church of England. Citing the ideal of responsible government where
the public is sovereign and the ultimate repository of power, the SPA
supports the transition of Australia to an independent republic.Policy 3: Foreign Policy.
The SPA supports the International Criminal Court rather than allowing
superpowers dictate international law, supports international secularism
and objects to human rights abuses particularly from religious groups
or for ideological reasons.

Group V: CountryMinded

The Party: Though not a single issue party, the CountryMinded Party (CMP) does focus strongly on issues affecting rural and regional Australia. Reading through their policies I found a large overlap with the policies of the KAP, often word for word.

Policy 1: Farming and Agriculture. The CMP states that live export is not only important to agricultural producers but to the nation's security. The party also believes that Australian livestock is well treated and that it is against a producer's interest to support conditions to the contrary. While acknowledging there have been issues with livestock treatment overseas, the party believes that assisting foreign countries to improve their standards is more productive than ending live export practices. The CMP also supports the Export Supply Chain Assurance Scheme.
The party will also: enforce high animal welfare standards, mandate more informative food labels regarding product origin and production standards, block imports of animal products where Australian producers are more heavily restricted or regulated, , mandate bio-fuel use in Australia, demand premium shelf space in supermarkets be allocated to Australian products, implement WTO compliant tariffs, ensure appropriate safeguards and funding to quarantine bio-security risks to Australian producers and increase the allocation of water from the Murray Darling to agricultural uses. Policy 2: Firearms. The CMP recognises the dangers of unregulated firearms and acknowledges that Australia's "existing policy is held up internationally as an example of “successful” regulation", while also acknowledging that there are legitimate reasons for gun ownership for both recreational and professional activities. The view of the party is that additional restrictions will overburden rural communities while having little effect on criminals who ignore gun laws. The party does recognise the availability of firearms is a factor in the high rural suicide rate, but suggests that efforts at tackling the underlying cause of suicide will produce better outcomes than simply regulating firearms.Policy 3:Rural Mental Health. The CMP will extend the current support given to the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Medical Association in return for the support services they offer in rural and regional Australia, as well as "e-mental health" services as provided by Reach Out and Headspace. Additional support would also be given to community programs, sports, cultural or interest driven gatherings and othe groups that assist in reducing social isolation in rural and regional areas.

Group W: Socialist Equality Party

The Party: If you want a party with socialist credentials the SEP
is it. As the heading on their "About Us >> History" page states
"The Socialist Equality Party is the Australian section of the
International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), the World
Party of Socialist Revolution", with the text below clarifying that "The
Fourth International was established by Leon Trotsky, the co-leader
with Lenin of the Russian revolution, in 1938 to continue the fight for
internationalism against the nationalist program advanced by Stalin and
his bureaucratic apparatus in the Soviet Union". So if I were to
describe this party as being Trotskyist I would mean that in a very
tangible way. Also, the "International Committee of the Fourth
International" has the most messed up name I've seen in a long time. I
had to re-read it several times. Then again, it is quite early in the
morning as I write this.

Policy 1: Defence. The SEP
demands withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan, opposes participation in
UN peake-keeping missions, and supports "the basic right of people to
defend themselves, their homes and their countries against neo-colonial
invaders" while firmly opposing terrorism. The SEP also opposes
Australian intervention in East Timor and the Solomon Islands and
demands withdrawal of military and police presences there as well.Policy 2: Aboriginal Affairs.
Viewing the reduced life expectancy, higher poverty,
higher unemployment, higher prison population, lower education and
literacy rates, limited access to housing and healthcare, and limited
access to basic social services and infrastructure in (particularly
remote) Aboriginal communities as the product of capitalism, the SEP
"opposes all attempts, either directly or indirectly, to blame “white
society” instead of the capitalist system for the oppression of
Aborigines" and thus opposes the formation of treaties and of
reconciliation measures, instead desiring the "mobilisation of the
entire working class".Policy 3: Transitional Demands.
Although supporting in the long term the replacement of capitalism with
socialism, the Trotskyist SEP believe there should be a "system
of transitional demands" which will assist the working classes in their
struggle to change the system. "Such demands include universal
employment, automatic adjustment of wages
in line with inflation, reduction of working hours with no loss of pay,
unrestricted access to quality medical care and education, decent
housing and the cancellation of home repossessions and evictions."

Group X: Katter's Australian Party

The Party: Katter has been a member of the Federal Parliament for some time, most famous for his large hats and rural focus. The KAP launched before the 2010 election and was posed to scoop up a large amount of the non-left protest vote with both Gillard and Abbott unpopular choices for PM. However the flashier and better financed Palmer United Party swooped in and took most of the glory, with the KAP stuck in the background.

Policy 1: Agriculture. In order to protectthe Australian agriculture industry, the KAP will implement WTO compliant tariffs and ensure appropriate safeguards and funding to quarantine bio-security risks to Australian producers. The KAP would also demand ethanol and bio-fuel be used in Australia as a means of assisting grain and sugar producers, ensure that premium shelf space in supermarkets be reserved only for Australian products and would increase the allocation of water from the Murray Darling to agricultural uses.Policy 2: Employment. One of the major planks of the KAP's policy to improve employment is to ensure the all levels of government purchase Australian products where suitable. This includes purchasing Australian manufactured vehicles, Australian manufactured uniforms made from Australian materials, and Australian stee for construction projects. KAP would also oppose the continuing use of 457 visas as a source of cheap labour, reduce the market share of "monopolistic companies for Australian small business, like Coles, Woolworths, Graincorp, Glencore and CBH" and commission a new fleet of Australian made vessels for naval and border protection purposes.Policy 3: Climate and Energy. The KAP would demand the use of ethanol and bio-fuel as previously noted as a means of using renewable energy that draws carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It also supports, and would extend, the current Renewable Energy Target, develop a national energy plan for energy security looking to 2030 and 2050, and invest in the national energy grid to improve the efficiency of power generation and transmission. The party opposes the extraction of coal seam gas where there is a risk o contaminating a nearby aquifer.

Group Y: Palmer United Party

The Party: If you thought the PUP was gone just because
Palmer is retiring to deal with his collapsing mining empire, you'd be
wrong. Although the current member for Fairfax will not be re-contesting
his seat, and faces severe opposition from the voters there anyhow, the
PUP is fielding a senatorial team in every state. Once a thriving
protest vote party, I feel that the PUP has become both too mainstream
and too embroiled in scandal to do well this election, but then I felt
they didn't stand a chance last election or the election before that, so
I'm obviously out of touch with the PUP voting demographic anyhow.Policy 1: Political Reform.
The PUP's main promises in this area are the establishment of a federal
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the
re-establishment of the National Integrity Commission. They also
advocate the introduction of two-term limits on serving in the Federal
Parliament, and that politicians' superannuation entitlements be
withheld until they reach the age required for the pension.Policy 2: Superannuation.
Restricting politicians' superannuation entitlements until they reach
retirement age is not the only plan the PUP has for super. According to
their policy website, under "Your Money For You", "around 15% of
Australians die before they ever get access to their own money". The PUP
advocate allowing people to use their super before retirement for
certain purchases, like buying a house.Policy 3: Environment.
The PUP congratulates itself on saving the Clean Energy Finance
Corporation, the Australian
Renewable Energy Agency, the Climate Change Authority & the
Renewable Energy Target from the Coalitions cost-cutting, and on
securing an additional $1 billion for these agencies. The implied
promise that support for these agencies and others will continue, but no
mention is made of any positive action the party proposes.

Group Z: Citizens Electoral Council

The Party: If you recognise the name Lyndon LaRouche, you'll recognise the CEC's policies. The party's "about us"
page discusses a need to "replace the evil, collapsing world order of
globalisation", a conspiracy against the party by "the City of
London/Wall St. financial establishment, to enforce economic rationalism
and globalisation upon Australia" and directs readers to "the CEC's
March 2001 pamphlet, The real story behind Queen Elizabeth's fascist racial vilification legislation."

Policy 1: Energy. Here is a link
to the CEC's page of links that form the basis of their view that - as
the title reads "Global Warming is a Fraud". It includes references to
the "British Monarchy's Agenda of Fascism and Genocide" and names Sir
David Attenborough as "[o]ne of the British Empire's leading spokesmen
for their policy of intentional genocide". Unwilling to accept the
argument that carbon emissions are a relevant factor in any energy policy, the CEC sees solar and wind power as "backward leaps from
oil and coal, being of a far inferior
energy density" but actively supports nuclear power and the nationalisation of our oil and gas resources.Policy 2: Food.
Citing world hunger as an international food crisis the CEC believes
Australia must play a role in feeding the world. Steps involved in this,
according to the CEC, include the government ensurign a minimum price
for all food growers, purchasing all food reserves to provide as aid,
cease all subsidies for biofuel production to send the involved grain to
countries in need, regulate fertilizer prices, provide discounts on
petroleum products for the agricultural sector and immediately divert
all water currently allocated to sustaining the Murray-Darling Basin's
environment and diversity into food production.Policy 3: Electoral Reform.
Many parties are proposing electoral form on some level, but the CEC is
certainly the most audacious in its plans; it demands an end to
compulsory voting; that preferential voting be replaced with a
first-past-the-post system; an end to government advertising; the
establishment of “Media Directorates" to give equal media coverage to
all candidates and parties in an election; and the end of political
contributions from corporations, unions and any body that is not a
natural human.

Group AA: Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party

The Party: Perhaps the most noteworthy example
of the single issue parties that made it into the senate on preference
flows and made the political establishment accept the old voting laws
were not providing a reasonable system of representation, the AMEP is
hoping their 3 years in the limelight has built up their voter base a
little and can see them through the difficulties of the new system. The
usual caviat for single-issue parties needs to be repeated here: In
supporting a single issue party the voter risks losing control over
their say in any other policy area.

Policy 1: Motoring Policy.
Largely focused on driver safety, this policy advocates for better
education, particularly for young drivers who are at a greater risk of
fatal accidents, better road construction and maintenance and widespread
education on the importance of vehicle maintenance.Policy 2: Motoring Industry.
While vehicle manufacturing in Australia is gasping its last breath,
the AMEP is focused on supporting the rest of the motoring industry
(repair, modification, retail etc), including support for specialist and
enthusiast motoring industries to "secure the Australian Motoring
Culture for future generations".Policy 3: Environment. The
AMEP supports, as a broad and poorly fleshed out ideal, environmental
protection, but also believes that the environment should be used and
enjoyed by Australian citizens and, in particular, the off-road motoring
activities are "a legitimate form of recreation, requiring safe,
responsible, sustainable and equitable access to public land".

Group AB: Animal Justice Party

The Party: Exactly what it says on the tin, a single-issue
party on the treatment of animals, but with a lot of specific spin-off
policies based around a vegetarian diet. The usual single-issue party
caveat applies -- voters must be aware that voting for any single issue
party, while a perfectly valid choice, means prioritising one issue
above all others. The successful election of an AJP senator gives the
voters no guarantees on any non-animal justice related issues.

Banning zoos or transitioning them to sanctuaries and conservation parks "which exist solely in the service of animals".

Limiting breeding of animals to licensed breeders.

Phasing out sale of pets except from shelters and rescues.

Subsidisingpet desexing.

Making desexing a requirement for the sale of pets.

Making it illegal to prevent pet ownership of tenants.

Ensuring domestic violence shelters have facilities for animals.

Supporting non-lethal population control methods for introduced species and threats to native wildlife.

Policy 2: Environment.
The AJP supports transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle to minimise
human impact on animals and free up land for reforestation. They also
support the use of recyclable and upcycled materials, protect forests
and marine habitats from destruction, and the use of clean energy. The
AJP argues that coal seam gas and other sources of natural gas be
reduced and phased out within 20 years, that fossil fuel usage not
increase, that a carbon tax be placed on coal use and agricultural
industries, and that Australia "rapidly transform to a carbon free
energy infrastructure".Policy 3: Health. Many of the party's
health policies derive from perceived health benefits of a vegetarian
lifestyle. They would promote this dietary shift through education,
cutting subsidies to the red and processed meat industries and a "phase
out [of] subsidies to intensive animal industries because they are both
cruel and provide a breeding ground for new diseases which pose large
public health risks". The AJP also advocates for an end to drug research
for "diseases best managed by simple lifestyle choices" and the overuse
of antibiotics which increase the rise of drug-resistant diseases.

Group AC: The Arts Party

The Party: The Arts Party is a classic example of a
party waiting to be hung out to dry as a direct result of voter apathy.
As a minor party the candidates can expect minimal media coverage and a
lack of interest from most voters who can't be bothered to google their
options (or read a blog that does it for them) before election day. Many
such parties name themselves after an issue to try and get the most out
of the one guaranteed piece of exposure they've got - their name on the
ballot. For the Voluntary Euthanasia Party or HEMP this works well
enough. People can work out what the party stands for and factor this
single issue into their order of preferences.
The Arts party has a
more complex policy mix, as shown below, which also includes views on
climate change, marriage equality and legalisation of cannabis. This
cannot be simply summed up in a single party name, but I suspect the
Arts Party is doing itself a disservice with its current choice.

Policy 1: Funding for the Arts.
Obviously this is a big deal for the Arts Party, and covers funding for
local and regional projects, reversal of cuts and extra money for the
ABC and SBS, free entry into the public displays of all government
funded museums and galleries and a National Arts Week to match National
Science Week and other programs. But for me one of the more interesting
planks of this policy is their "demand not supply" approach to arts
funding. The Arts Party believes that too much money is being spent by
the government on selected projects -- cherry picking the artists who
will succeed -- rather than letting the public decide which works are
relevant to the nation. They explain their policy to fund the demand
for, rather than the supply of, art by way of the following example:
"a subsidy of $5 per ticket for a live performance would allow the
producer of an event to offer their tickets for $5, while guaranteeing
an income of $10 per ticket. Should such an offering garner no ticket
sales then the subsidy would cost nothing to the government. Should the
event prove popular then the subsidy would represent a cost to the
government, but only as a result of the event's inherent value to the
Australian people."Policy 2: Vaccination. The Arts Party
believes that vaccinations are an important part of modern healthcare
with benefits that far outweigh any harms that may be caused. They
support universal vaccination as a goal, but also understand that people
may have very personal reasons for their objections, and argues that
the current "no jab no pay" system focuses too heavily on penalties and
not enough on incentives and education.Policy 3: Disability.
Support for people living with disabilities is proposed through support
for the NDIS, grants to improve employment opportunities and compulsory
audio description and captioning options for public TV (either on their
free to air channel or online platforms), among others.

Group AD: Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting)

The Party: The NCPP (or NCPP(EP) as they prefer to be labelled) is not a single-issue party. It's policy platform is heavily influenced by the belief that children of separated parents should, normally, be raised by both parents. This is detailed in policy 1 below. There are a lot of other policies provided here with varying levels of connection to this key belief.

Policy 1: Equal Parenting. The NCPP believes that depriving a child of access to one parent without goood cause should qualify as child abuse and, additionally, that one of the major reasons children are assigned to one parent and not shared parenting is government interference. Among the party's measures to limit this are replacing the Family Court with a Family Tribunal to shift the process of custody agreement towards mediation and away from adversarial practice, allowing parents to negotiate the division of family assistance payments, and to legislate a presumption for equal-time shared parenting that must be overcome by evidence that this is not in the child's best interest.Policy 2:Foreign Affairs. The NCPP believes that both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were mistakes, and that measures should be taken to avoid Australia being involved in unnecessary future confrontation. There is no mention, however, of whether the NCPP supports immediate or gradual troop withdrawl. It is the party's position that "the Australian Defence Force should be limited to the protection of Australia" and should not be involved in overseas conflicts. The party supports immigration as necessary to help Australia "remain a vibrant and sustainable country".Policy 3:Reduced Government. The broad position of the NCPP can be described as libertarian or one of reduced government interference. Unsurprisingly, then, the party believes that overlapping duties conducted by the Federal, State and Local Governments should be streamlined, and specifically consolidated away from the states. Roads, public health, education, environment and tax collection are among the areas considered in desperate need of allocation to Federal or Local spheres of government, and the party believes that "[i]t would be very simple for the Federal Government or Local Council to take over any role that is now currently being done by the State Government". How this would be squared with the Federal Constitution (specifically section 51 and even more so section 107) is not discussed, especially as residual power lies at a state level. (I would guess, though don't take my word for it, that the party would rely on s 96 of the Constitution and the broad interpretation this was given in the "Federal Roads Case" (Victoria v Commonwealth (1926) 38 CLR 399.))

Group AE: Mature Australia

The Party: The Mature Australia Party (MAP) was initially
founded in Queensland to give a greater voice to voters living in
retirement homes, but has quickly grown into a nation-wide party and
respects its duty to represent all voters, from 18 to 118 years of age
and (theoretically) beyond. A detailed copy of their policies, ranging
from immigration to mental health to electoral reform, can be found at
the link below. In selecting the three below I was guided by those
policies that were referred to in their mission statement here.

Policy 1: Pensions.
Unsurprisingly, MAP supports a raise in the weekly value of the
pension. This raise is intended to raise the pension above the poverty
line and up to 75% of the national minimum wage.Policy 2: Water.
Citing the impact of water shortages on both farming and manufacture,
MAP argues there is a need for a national infrastructure scheme to
control and conserve Australia's water resources.Policy 3: Superannuation.
MAP advocates for a national superannuation fund run by the government,
offering a secure and guaranteed fund run for the benefit of future
generations and backed by the same security as government bonds, while
the invested savings provide money for various government projects.

Group AF: Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)

The Party: Why is it that although I know many progressive and
liberal Christians, you know the moment a party uses Christian in its
name that it'll be a conservative right-wing group? Perhaps the Fred
Nile Group is part of the reason. This is an old party and stands by all
the usual right-wing policies you've come to expect of any group by
this name. Their plans are only provided as a brief blurb at the
provided link, so I've quoted them in their entirety. Further
information on some specific views - such as government funding for
chaplaincy in schools, opposition to euthanasia and the party's
objection to same-sex marriage are discussed elsewhere in press releases
that cna be found on their website.

Policy 1: Family. "We believe that the institution of the family is the most important
pillar of society. We reject any attempt to redefine or the nature of
what is a family, and remain firm supporters of the needs of mothers,
fathers and children."Policy 2: Church. "With
the legal system beginning to reflect an increasingly secular world,
churches have a voice to protect their religious freedoms and their
ability to preach openly. Secular political parties cannot make this
guarantee, however the Christian Democratic Party can."

Policy 3: Community. "Increasingly
our local community is coming under pressure from Big Government and
Big Business. The Christian Democratic Party is the values-based party
that will defend the interests of locals concerning issues such as
building over-development, coal seam gas mining and the building of
mosques. We believe that political decisions should be made on most
local level, so that the interests of the local community affected are
properly represented."

Group AG: Australian Sex Party

The Party: The Australian Sex Party (ASP) has always invited
controversy, from its policies to its choice of name. In actual fact the
Sex Party has a broad range of policies beyond sexual health,
contraception and same-sex rights, and is a classic example of a party
naming itself to appeal to uninformed or apathetic voters who will not
take the time to read detailed policy platforms.

Policy 1: LGBT Issues. One of the Sex Party's core
ideals has always been sexual equality. The ASP supports same sex
marriage; assisted reproduction, surrogacy and adoption for same-sex
couples and accepting refugees fleeing
foreign lands on the grounds of persecution for their sexual
preferences or identities. The party also supports the controversial
"safe schools" program and compulsory, comprehensive sex education up to
Year 10, argues for federal legislation protecting sexual minorities
from vilification, and wishes to end harmful and ineffective "conversion
therapy".Policy 2: Religion. After the Sex Party's controversial video criticising the Catholic
Church, religion has become a major issue for the ASP. The party argues
for an end to religious tax exemptions, specifically removing
‘advancing religion’ as a charitable purpose in the Charities Act, and
requiring churches to meet the normal accounting and reporting
obligations to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
The party also wants to abolish the Abbott government school chaplaincy
program, special religious instruction in schools and private-school
exemptions to discrimination legislation.Policy 3: Health. The ASP has a wide-ranging health policy, based
on pro-choice principles. This means the party is pro-euthanasia and
pro-abortion. The ASP desires consistent abortion laws across the
country, eliminating the requirement for patients under the age of 18 to
get parental consent for abortions and providing safe access zones to
prevent harassment of clients around abortion facilities. The party
recognises, however, the controversial nature of this stance and
supports the right of health professionals refuse to participate in
abortions except in emergencies.
The ASP is a firm believer in the
importance of vaccination, and supports the federal no-jab/no-pay
measures that restrict certain payments to parents who opt out of
vaccination programs, stating that online research cannot be given the
same weight as scientific study, that ignoring scientific studies does
not qualify as an "informed health choice" and that "[w]hilst it can be
tempting to imagine that we parents have access to some special kind of
knowledge that somehow eludes the scientific community, it’s just not
so."
The party also supports the decriminalisation of medicinal and
recreational drug use, seeks the removal of 10% GST from "non-essential"
products essential to female hygiene and also (if I read their
implications correctly) barrier contraceptives, sunscreen and nicotine
patches.

Group AH: Australian Progressives

The Party: More or less what the party name says. Progressive
policies, opposition to conservative policies, in Australia. What more
do you want? The party is relatively new, and this will be their first
federal election. The party should be confused with the
Australian Progressive Party which launched within days of this party
and was quickly devoured by this one be a recent merger of the two.

Policy 1: Industrial Relations.
The Australian Progressives want the working week officially reduced
from 38 to 32 hours, with flexibility for a four-day working week; they
want to cap CEO remuneration at 100 times that of the company's lowest
paid employee; they want tax breaks for companies that hire at least 10%
of their work force in entry level positions; and they want parental
leave for both mothers and fathers to be slowly extended up to 52 weeks
over the long term.Policy 2: Equality. The progressives's
social justice policy covers a wide range of issues: signing treaties
with Aboriginal people to provide recognition, reconciliation and a
valid legal basis for Australian law; support for same-sex marriage,
with appropriate protections for religious celebrants; legislating for
gender equality on a range of issues including parental custody and
parental leave; and providing the recomended additional funding for the
organisations named by the Victorian Royal Commission into Domestic
Violence.Policy 3: Health. Topically, given the ALP's concern
over Liberal privatisation of Medicare, the progressives want Medicate
to remain government owned and better funded. Additionally, they believe
dental services should be covered, that other health services such as
Hearing Australia should remain in public hands and that a
government-owned pharmaceutical company should be created to produce
off-patent medicines and reduce the cost of the PBS.

Group AI: Nick Xenophon Team

The Party: A guaranteed shoo-in in South Australia, the
appeal on the NXT in other states is largely unknown. Certainly one of
the better known cross-benchers, Xenophon may get some name recognition
outside of SA and has the advantage that he has no party name attached
to him, unlike Muir or Lazarus. I'm not sure what the advertising has
been like out there in the broader Australia, but the NXT centrist,
populist policies seem to appeal to many Australians and the NXT has
money for advertising on TV at least in SA. Only time will tell how
Xenophon is received beyond my home state.

Policy 1: Predatory Gambling.
Xenophon may as well have legally changed his name to Mr No Pokies MP
Nick Xenophon for the way the epithet has been indelibly appended to his
name, so this has to be mentioned in any summary. The NXT's policies
include maximum bets of $1 on pokie machines and $120 limits on hourly
losses, the elimination of ATMs from betting venues, an end to
micro-betting on sports events, and an end to all betting advertising
during sporting events - particularly those watched my large numbers of
children.Policy 2: Australian Made. Partly off the back of
Xenophon's push for a larger portion of the Australian submarine and
ship-building contracts to be conducted in SA, the NXT has been heavily
pushing for support for Australian goods. This includes forcing
government departments and projects to give greater preference to
Australian goods and services, more effective anti-dumping laws and an
overhaul of food labeling and advertising regulation.Policy 3: Foreign Investment.
Responding to the Kidman land deal in particular, NXT proposes all
overseas transactions greater than $5 million should be subject to the
approval of the foreign investment board, as well as a clear legislative
definition of what constitutes the "national interest" and greater
transparency in foreign ownership of Australian resources and industry.

Group AJ: Drug Law Reform

The Party: A single-issue party looking for reform of drug policy
in Australia, the DLR party has stated that on all other matters its
senators will be allowed a conscience vote rather than directly engaging
in vote trading. While the normal caveat applies -- only vote for a
single-issue party if you favour their platform over all other issues
combined -- you can perhaps take some consolation in that they MIGHT be
like minded individuals and vote in accordance with your views
occasionally. Interestingly, the DLR state that they "don’t proclaim to
have all the answers of what the best regulatory
approach to currently-illicit drugs is, but we know the current
prohibition is causing more harm that good."

Policy 1: Drug Law Reform.
There isn't much more to the party than this. The DLR wants drug
regulation instead of prohibition, including the decriminalisation of
cannabis and ecstasy, regulation on production and distribution of drugs
along the lines of systems used in other countries, and greater support
for users through the health system with emphasis on harm reduction and
harm prevention. The party also wants a Royal Commission into the
health, social and economic costs of drug use criminalisation.

Group AK: Sustainable Australia

The Party: Not exactly single issue, the Sustainable Australia
Party "stand for an economically, environmentally and socially
sustainable Australia" and describes itself as politically centrist.
Some of their policies are below. Enjoy.Policy 1: Environment.
On climate change the party supports targets of keeping global
temperatures below pre-industrial levels + 1.5 degrees, having emissions
at or below year 2000 levels -19% by 2020, and at 2000 levels - 80% by
2050, 27% renewable energy production by 2020 and 100% by 2050. Means to
achieve this include funding research, introducing a carbon pricing
method and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies except the Diesel Fuel
Rebate. Beyond climate change the party would have a moratorium on all
fracking, oppose the use of nuclear power, exclude the burning of
Australian native forests from definitions of 'renewable energy',
transition Australia from native logging to plantation logging, impose a
Resource Super Profit Tax (AKA a "mining tax") for iron ore and coal,
minimise factory farming, set up independent regulation for animal
welfare in farming, agriculture and for domestic pets, and end live
export of animals.Policy 2: Population. This party opposes
restrictions on family size and coercive efforts to reduce fertility,
the most extreme example being China's one-child policy, supports
immigration at a sustainable level (including a refugee intake of
14-20,000) and without discrimination of immigrants based on race or
religion. Globally Sustainable Australia would link our foreign aid to
improving economic and environmental stability, female rights, education
and access to reproductive health services (which I read to include
contraception and abortion). The party would increase family planning
and reproductive health services foreign aid from $50 million to $500
million immediately and double that by 2020. In accommodating this
population the party would seek greater involvement of local authorities
in town planning, preserve green-zones and Policy 3: Services.
On the issue of education, the party would support more affordable and
reliable child care, Gonski-style needs-based education funding and
smaller class sizes. The party also supports reducing tertiary education
fees by 50%, halving all current HECS debts is the remainder is paid
within 24 months and offering free tertiary education in STEM fields, as
well as restoring "proper" funding to universities. Heath services
would also benefit by the party increasing the number of Australian
trained medical specialists, providing "better" (more?) investment in
medical training, nursing training and medical research, and granting
free reproductive health advice and contraception to all. The party
would also treat personal drug abuse as a health issue rather than a
criminal one, develop better aged care facilities and support funding
for the NDIS.Source:http://www.votesustainable.org.au/policies

Group AL: The Greens

The Party: Quickly becoming the boogieman of Australian
politics, the greens have taken a battering from both major parties.
Many of their policies are well known, so I had the choice of choosing
some of the party's lesser known platforms like some desperate political
hack seeking to "expose the real Greens agenda" or stick with the main
issues they'll most likely prioritise in government.

Policy 1: Environmental Protections.
Instituting a price on carbon emissions and heavily regulating
genetically modified organisms are large issues in this area, along with
bringing an end to logging of native forests and extending the area of
the Tarkine under international heritage protection.Policy 2: Same Sex Marriage.
The Greens outspoken support for the LGBTQIA+ community used to be an
important point of difference, particularly on the matter of marriage
equality. With the ALP promising marriage equality within (from memory)
100 days of being elected and the Coalition pushing for a plebiscite
that should provide overwhelming support and give a mandate for the
same, this is less stark. Nevertheless, a vote for the Greens will be a
vote for marriage equality, equal adoption and parenting rights,
equivalent national age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual sex
acts and so forth.Policy 3:Refugees. The Greens support an
end to practices leading to mandatory detention of refugees, advocate
for "humane, transparent, predictable and consistent" processes, with a
separate processing system for children, and object to considerations of
nationality, ethnicity, religion, language, gender, disability,
sexuality, age or socioeconomic background in determining an individuals
suitability for settlement in Australia.

Group AM: Australian Liberty Alliance

The Party: Dubbed the anti-Islam, Trump-style party
by the Sydney Morning Herald, the ALA was launched with the aid of
controversial Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders. The ALA
is not, however, a single issue party, and their policies cannot be
replicated in full here. Nevertheless, I shall try to capture the
flavour of the party.

Policy 1: Citizenship and Integration.
The ALA dedicates most of this platform to it's aims to "Stop the
Islamisation of Australia", which is focused on preventing Sharia law
being "imposed" upon Australians, banning immigration of Muslims from
the countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, prohibiting
face coverings in public spaces, and mandatory labeling of products and
services from companies that have taken out halal certification. They
also oppose dual citizenship, and consider Australian citizenship a
privilege rather than a right - which may include revoking the
citizenship of current Australians.Policy 2: Health. In the
party's health policy are aims to end universal healthcare for "those
who can afford to contribute more and foreign nationals", support the
NDIS, but after a gradual introduction and on a sound financial basis,
and requirements for childrens' health checks and immunisation before
parents receive child benefits. This policy also includes tentative
opposition for abortions after the first trimester (excluding
exceptional circumstances) a somewhat firmer stance against assisted
suicide and euthanasia. Oddly, the "health" policy also includes
opposing stereotyping and disadvantages for homosexual couples, but
reject also a rejection of same sex marriage and same-sex adoption.Policy 3: Foreign Affairs.
The ALA considers the UN Charter on Refugees to be outdated, and remove
Australia from the charter. They promote resettlement only in countries
from a similar region and culture to the one they have fled, insist aid
be restricted to nations "subscribed to the UN Charter on Human Rights
and who guarantee gender equality and protection of religious
minorities" and would limit foreign invesment in Australian real estate
to nations with a reciprocal agreement with Australia. They also fully
support the rights of Israel in the Middle East, in particular to have
undivided control of Jerusalem.

Group AN: Renewable Energy Party

The Party: Yes, it's a single-issue green-energy party. Are you
surprised? Do you want me to write out the usual caveat again? Of course
you do! Now, it's not my place to who to vote for or against. By all
means, support a single-issue party. But, in doing so, be aware that the
party may vote against you r interests on all other matters and even
trade away votes in return for favourable legislation. Now, I know for a
fact there are people out there who will happily take that gamble to
secure action on climate change, and I do not object to voting that way.
I only object to ill-informed or ill-thought-out voting.

Policy 1: Targets.
The REP supports retaining the current 2020 Renewable Energy Target and
the addition of a 2030 target of 100% renewable energy. The party also
expects an investment of $28 trillion globally in renewable energy
technologies between 2013 and 2035, and intends for Australia to receive
much of this investment by supporting the CSIRO, ARENA and other
organisations to help develop technology here.Policy 2: Energy.
The REP's energy policy includes an end to fossil fuel subsidies,
doubling Australia's "energy productivity" by 2030 and supporting
research into renewable energy through research organisations and
grassroots initiatives by local communities.Policy 3: Transition.
Recognising that many industries are heavily entwined with current
energy sources, the REP proposes strategies to help transition including
investment in developing the skills required for the renewable energy
industry; organising gradual closure of coal power stations, managing
site rehabilitation and providing employees with new skills; and
providing assistance to the agricultural sector to help adapt to
difficulties caused by climate change.

Group AO: Marijuana (HEMP) Party

The Party: HEMP is a single issue party for the regulation rather than criminalisation of drugs. As per usual, I have to give my caveat that voting for a single-issue party is a fine choice so long as you value their platform over all other issues combined, since you cannot tell how their members will vote or what they'll trade for deals beyond this platform. That said, HEMP is running on a joint ticket with the ASP in Queensland, South
Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, so that might help you work out how they'll vote. Maybe.

Policy 1:Legalisation of Cannabis. HEMP is a
single-issue party, unsurprisingly, and its the ASP that has fleshed out
the other policies here. The HEMP party supports the industrial
production of hemp and hemp-seed oil which is used in paints and other
products, as well as cosmetics; it supports the use of medical marijuana
for treatment; and it supports the recreational use of marijuana.